The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1887-07-28

rlilf-we caught tremendous shark, and,
still more remarkable. each and every man
aboard confessed it TO have been the very
first he had ever helped capture. IL was
nearly sixteen feet in length, an unusual size.
it took every soul of us to get him on board
He snapped scan'lilg with his awful jaws so
dangerously that an iron pump spike five feet
long was thrust between them, and then with
this great iron bar he did such rapid gymnas-
tic feats over the deck load that he drove US
all forward and aft like bevy Of sheep, un-
til we got, by good luck, great timber
across his back and sat on its ends like boys
"a lettering and thus we smothered his gal
liant life ont of him.
can imagine how the google eyed scien,
fists would have beamed over him, and called
him grand elasmohranchite, lovingly. But
we Just chopped him up leisurely, boiled out
his backbone and teeth for souvenirs, and
tossed his despised remains overheard to feed
his poor relations with 1t is thus that tastes
differ
The next night about midnight l was
awakened from my sleep by remarkable
war of words few feet distant along star
board amdships. Startled by a glare OF
light from"rhe same direction, hastily arose
and found our captain in his night shirt,
drawers. rubber shoes and sou'wester hat,
striding up and down the schooner's side,
trembling with rage, putting at his pipe
wildly. and swearing as | had never heard
him before. | saw he was carrying sore
bulky object in his hand, and moment later
saw him turn and hurl this dark object
down toward where the light came from, and
heard it strike with a loud thwack and
smack, as if upon a boats bottom Then he
swore some more, and eloquently. Gaining
the vessels side | saw common yawl boat,
with faring cresset at the brow, 400
pound woman in the stern and Il 100 pound
man at the oars. The woman was hellyOn,
the man rs the husbands of hellyOns always
area broken reed. She was bare armed,
bare headed and bare egg I'd. He was muffied
up as If to hug close the little life left in him.
She had dozen or more hairy moles pro
truding from the greasy wrinkles OF
her face The mans countenance wal
like ancient parchment strained over
parcel of bones. THIS pretty pair solely
occupied Double Shot Head Keys and kept
the lighthouse there. The English govern
ment, beneficently taking cognizance of the
womans devilish nature, had set the couple
OuU mere Ill JUlS eHuleSS lSOIdJlOu, DuJ IncJ
were still irrepressible under the womans
canny prowess. The yellow light from their
stormy home shot at us from a few miles dis
tance over on our port quarter, and learned,
when our indignant captain had quieted
somewhat, that they were known the seas
over as the most colossal beggars in the
oceans history: that they lay in wait for
every vessel passing north and south; and,
after "hooking on" would trance this way
for miles, begging and bullying for anything
they might wheedle or force from the ships
this occasion the tribute being the
toughest old piece of corned beef the cook
could rake out Of the barrel with the shark
hook
By the next midnight the great light on the
tower of MORO Castle was dimly sighted; at
dawn the grim headlands along the north
shores of Cuba were clearly visible. and soon
we were IN fine view, though laboring
through tremendous sea, of the strange and
quaint city of Havana, the gay, winsOma
and romantic capital of the enchanted An
titles pearl EDGAR L. WAKEMAN.